Installing and configuring CRT_EMU driver.

[desh_thiere]

Hi guys, I have some very noobish questions, so I apologise in advance. I'll spell it out in simple steps.

1) Installed CRT_EMU driver on a Windows XP x64 system running an Radion 4670 card. Driver installed fine, rebooted back into windows.

2) I know the next step is to now run VMmaker to setup the resolutions. However, when I click on VMmaker, it asks me to put my copy of MAME into emu\mame\mame.exe. Do I just create that folder structure in the same folder as my vmmaker and then throw my copy of Groovymame in there?

3) Once it finds MAME, what happens next? I have a vague idea that it will ask me questions about my monitor to set up the optimal video modes. However, I don't know what info I need to know about my monitor. I do know it is a 26 inch Kortek chassis model number KT-2603X and I have the tube number lying around somewhere. So basically, it is a very standatd 15khz monitor setup. What info will I need to tell Vmmaker?

4) How do I get it to boot into 15khz mode? When I rebooted my PC after the driver install, it's still running in standard resolutions, as it displays fine on the PC monitor I have it plugged into while I get everything setup. How do I get it to boot into 15khz mode when Windows boots?

Thanks very much if you can help me out. Due to the lack of a good guide on setting all of this up, I am a bit confused.

[cools]

Check vmmakers INI file. All is explained there

[desh_thiere]

I have read it, still confused.

I pointed it to Groovymame and it generated some modelines, then asked me to reboot. I rebooted, and it's still showing up on the PC monitor fine, so it obviously hasn't booted into 15khz mode.

I thought this was going to be a bit less obtuse and easier to setup. Guess I was wrong...

If anyone can point out a good guide, I would love to read one.

[Calamity]

Hi desh_thiere,

Sorry we still don't have an ortodox guide, however your questions have been extensively explained in dozens of posts in this subforum.

You need to explicitly set your desktop to a 15-kHz video mode in order to have a 15-kHz display. Launch Arcade_OSD to do so (select the resolution you want and use "set as desktop mode"), etc.

[desh_thiere]

Thanks Calamity, I did not know I had to use arcade_OSD to achieve the 15khz resolution.

I did some forum trawling to try and find an answer, but ended up getting even more confused...

I was reading through the .ini file again and it says to put the driver folder in c:\driver location. I have not yet done this, so I will also do that today.

A friend of mine who has this up and running says that I also have to set the horizontal and vertical frequencies for my Kortek monitor, but I am not sure what they are. I guess I will have to try and find a manual for the Kortek KT-2603x chassis and go from there.

EDIT: Would somebody be able to help me with these few questions?

I have installed the drivers, put the driver folder into c:\driver and am ready to set the desktop res using arcadeOSD. I have pointed CRT_EMU driver to MAME and it has generated video modes based on MAME. If I now run ArcadeOSD and set it to 640x480 @ 15khz, will it then instantly set the resolution to that desktop res at 15khz? I will then of course have to turn it off, unplug it, and hook it up to an arcade monitor via a J-PAC (I have a J-PAC ready to go and hooked up)

I cannot find a manual for the specific hoz and vert freqs for my monitor. If I leave it set to custom (as is the default in the .ini) will it actually work? Should I change it to generic, or CGA?

Thanks if you can help. I know that these are very noobish questions and I do apologise. I just am finding it very difficult to sort through all of the specific into for installing this driver. I have always just used ArcadeVGA and I would love to get this going properly.

[Calamity]

Hi desh_thiere,

You don't need to place the driver in any specific folder or anything. The driver path in the vmmaker.ini file is just for customizing the driver for future installations which is not your case.

So you have everything ready indeed. Just set 640x480 15khz in Arcade_OSD and it'll be outputting 15 kHz, that's all. This step is just required because you didn't have your desktop set to the 640x480 resolution previously to installing the drivers as recommended, otherwise your system would have started at 15 kHz already.

So just relax and don't be afraid of breaking your monitor, especially if you're using a J-PAC, in the worst case you may end up with a split display if you accidentally output 31 kHz to your monitor. The 'custom' setting that's the default option in VMMaker is just fine for any 15 kHz monitor, so, again, don't be afraid. When in GroovyMAME, either generic_15 or arcade_15 settings should be fine too.

[desh_thiere]

Thanks for the confidence boost Calamity! I am new to all this software configuration, having just used an ArcadeVGA in the past.

Here's an interesting thing though. In the time it took you to reply, I was continuing reading, and I read about putting the desktop to 640x480 to make it boot up into 15khz. So, I changed my desktop to 640x480 and ran vmmaker again. It asked me to reboot, so I did, and it still booted up fine on the old BENQ LCD I am using to get this all setup.

I thought, hmmm, that's odd, and I went into ArcadeOSD to set it to a 15khz mode. However, ArcadeOSD says that it is already running in 15khz! 640x480 60i with a VFreq of 59.889 and a HFreq of 15.601. This is a 15khz resolution correct?

Does this mean that the old LCD I am using is capable of displaying 15khz frequencies or am I totally overlooking something obvious and simple? The monitor is a BenQ FP737s, just and old onw I have lying around in the garage. According to the manual, the lowest mode it will support is 640x350 at 31khz, so I have no idea why ArcadeOSD reports it as a 15khz mode.

At that resolution, I assume (I hope) that if I plug it into my J-PAC, the boot screens will display garbled, but then when it gets into windows and the driver loads, it will display a steady image?

Thanks again Calamity, it is awesome to see someone who is so invested in helping people achieve the best possible results with Groovy and CRT_EMU. GroovyMAME has got to be one of the best pieces of emulation software ever written

[Calamity]

Just boot your computer without the LCD monitor attached, otherwise its EDID is detected by the drivers and compatible timings are created overriding our modelines.

Once you boot with the arcade monitor attached you should get a stable picture once the drivers are loaded. I case you still have 31 kHz, go into Arcade_OSD again and select a 15 kHz resolution, but from now on just use the arcade monitor.

[desh_thiere]

Ok, thanks Calamity. I did not think of the EDID of the screen messing things up. So I would like to have the desktop boot up into 640x480, which is what my current MAME machine does using ArcadeVGA.

If I leave the new PC on its current resolution of 640x480 60i 59.889 15.601, is that 15khz? Or should I set it to something else?

Sorry for my litany of questions, but you are obviously the authority on this and it's good to be able to pick the brain of someone in the know.

Thanks again!

[desh_thiere]

SUCCESS!!! Booted the PC hooked up to the J-PAC, garbled screens during boot, but as soon as it got into windows, perfect image. So happy right now!

Thanks for all your help Calamity, couldn't have done it without a bit of advice.